1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method of pixel address detection of an image sensor having windowing function. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of defective pixel address detection of an image sensor having windowing function.
2. Description of Related Art
As the multimedia era is coming, digital information, such as digital images or digital movies, becomes more popular. Modem technology has highly developed, and the cost of image sensors for generating digital images or pictures reduces. More people can access these high technological products. However, there are still some problems about the image sensors.
Due to the current process, it is hard to fabricate an image sensor perfectly without any bad or defective pixel thereon. Therefore, there are always some defective pixels on the image sensor after it is fabricated. The image or picture sensed by the defective pixels will affect the quality of the image or picture. And the following imaging procedure, such as color processing or image compressing etc, will also affected. How to ship the defective pixels of the image sensor becomes a significant topic.
The method for solving such problems can be restoring a set of defective pixel addresses first. And then the pixels of the image sensor are read in sequence to compare with the defective pixel addresses, by which the defective pixels can be detected while the image sensor operates. However, if the image sensor has a window function, the pixels of the image sensor are not sensed in sequence, but from one pixel address to another non-consecutive pixel address. If the non-consecutive pixel address is larger than the currently indexed memory element contents, there is not a hit. The index is struck and not moving under this condition. The detection for the defective pixel addresses fails to function.
To solve these problems, according to conventional schemes, a more complicated algorithm or another tag bit in a memory element is used. However, the conventional methods increase the cost of the image sensor due complexity and increasing size of the image sensor.
The invention provides a method of defective pixel address detection for an image sensor. A plurality of defective pixel addresses are stored first during the image sensor is tested. A pixel address of the image sensor is read and one of the defective pixel addresses is fetched. The first fetched defective pixel address is compared with the pixel address of the sensor address, and then a defective pixel flag is outputted if the pixel address is equal to the defective pixel address. An index value is increased by one unit and another defective pixel address which is indexed next to the first fetched defective pixel address is fetched. The first fetched defective pixel address is compared with the pixel address of the sensor address and further determines the index value if the pixel address is not equal to the defective pixel address. The index value is increased by one unit and fetching another defective pixel address which is indexed next to the first fetched defective pixel address if the pixel address of the sensor address is larger than the first fetched defective pixel address and the index is not equal to zero. Determine whether a frame begins if the pixel address of the sensor address is not larger than the first fetched defective pixel address or the index is equal to zero. The index value is increased by one unit and fetching another defective pixel address which is indexed next to the first fetched defective pixel address if the pixel address of the sensor address is larger than the first fetched defective pixel address and the index is not equal to zero and the frame begins.
The defective pixel address is compared with an empty signature if the pixel address of the sensor address is not larger than the first fetched defective pixel address and the index is not equal to zero and no frame begins. The index value is increased by one unit if the defective pixel address is the empty signature, and then fetching another defective pixel address which is indexed next to the first fetched defective pixel address; and fetching another defective pixel address which is indexed next to the first fetched defective pixel address if the defective pixel address is not the empty signature.
Advantageously, the present invention provides an effective and efficient method for determining whether the pixel of the image sensor is defective, by which the following color processing and image compression etc can be significantly simplified. In addition, the method of defective pixel address detection for an image sensor is in a simple and low cost way.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.